Prince George, BC - According to a staff report going to Prince George City Council later this month, building permit values registered at the City of Prince George climbed to record heights in 2021 driven largely by private sector multi-family housing construction. Traditionally, building permit values are an important economic indicator.
In 2021, the value of permits sold at the City of Prince George passed $237.6 Million, a 6.3 percent increase over the values in 2019, formerly the all-time record, which totalled roughly $223.4 Million. This total also brings the value of permits purchased in Prince George in the past five years (2017 to 2021) to nearly $1 Billion ($985 Million).
Remarkably, in 2021 the value of new multi-family building permits again reached an all-time high of $115 Million – an impressive 62.7 percent increase over the previous record of $70 million set in 2020, which was itself an all-time record. Notably, nearly half (48.58 percent) of the value of the permits purchased in 2021 were for multi-family units such as apartment buildings and condominium complexes. Ninety eight percent (461) of the 467 permits issued in 2021 were purchased by private sector businesses. According to data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the number of residential housing units that started construction in Prince George in 2021 is also up significantly from 2020 at 484 units.
“Council is thrilled that the building boom in Prince George has not only continued, but in many respects accelerated in spite of all the challenges we have faced through the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Lyn Hall, Mayor of Prince George. “Council is also extremely pleased that investors, businesses, and developers are continuing to recognize the amazing potential of our city. Private sector investment shows confidence in our economy and that continues to drive development in our community.”
Last year, a review of building permits issued in the City of Prince George year-over-year revealed a spike in the value of new multi-family building permits, as well as the total number of new units being built in Prince George. This has a positive impact on the economy as well as the availability of diverse housing for residents. In fact, the total value of multi-family permits in 2019 and 2020 was about $15 Million more than the combined total of all prior years since the turn of the century.
Nearly half of the total building permit values and six of the top 10 highest value permits in 2021 were for multi-family construction and all were from the private sector:
- 4 storey, 67 unit apartment building, 1755 Foothills Boulevard - $20,642,728.00
- 4 storey, 90 unit apartment building, 2604 Recplace Drive - $18,009,414.00
- 70,363 square foot warehouse, 7180 Boundary Court - $12,170,689.00
- 4 storey, BC Housing project development, 855 1st Avenue - $12,000,000.00
- Save-on Foods construction at Pine Centre Mall - $10,500,000.00
- 55 unit, multi-family building, 2918 Hopkins Road - $9,785,406.00
- 4 storey, 47 unit multi-family apartment building, 2604 Recplace Drive - $9,650,918.00
- New building for Great West Equipment, 7411 Riggs Crescent - $9,000,000.00
- 3 storey, 35 unit wood frame row houses, 1965 17th Avenue - $8,079,054.00
- 9092 square foot multi-family building, 605 Quebec Street - $6,500,000.00
In recent years, the value of permits have set a number of increasingly impressive records:
- In 2016, the value of private sector construction reached a new high in Prince George with $122.5 Million in private sector investment.
- In 2017, residential building permit values (including single and multi-family residences) set a record at $114.37 Million, breaking the previous all-time record of $76.42 Million by about $38 Million, a percentage increase of 50 percent.
- In 2018, the total value of building permits ($186.38 Million) beat the previous record of $147.88 Million set in 2007 by nearly $40 Million – a 26 percent increase.
- In 2019, both the value and number of building permits issued in Prince George beat the previous record-breaking year (2018) by nearly 20 percent with $223 Million.
- In 2020, the City nearly broke its all-time record for building permits values reaching 219 Million, only two percent lower than the previous all-time high reached in 2019 – in spite of the economic turmoil brought about by the pandemic.
- Also in 2020, the value of new multi-family building permits reached an all-time high of $68 Million - up about 30 percent over the previous record of $52 Million set in 2019.
Anyone interested in investing in Prince George is encouraged to contact the City of Prince George Economic Development Division at 250-561-7633 or by emailing ecdev@princegeorge.ca.